Robert Jerome Piest (15)
Born
16 Mar 1963, Des Plaines, Illinois
Death
11 Dec 1978, Norwood Park Township, Illinois
Tragically, Robert Piest was one of the victims of Illinois serial killer and sex offender John Wayne Gacy who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys between 1962 and 1977. His conviction for thirty-three murders (by one individual) then covered the most homicides in United States legal history. Gacy was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection at Statesville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994. He became known as “The Killer Clown” due to his public performances as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes and is one of the most prolific serial murderers in Chicago history.
On December 11, 1978, 15-year-old Robert Piest, Maine West honor student ends his shift at Nisson Pharmacy in Des Plaines and tells his mother to wait inside while he talks with a man outside about a construction job. He disappears. Inside Gacy’s house on December 13, 1978, police discover a receipt for a roll of film being developed. The Piest family says the receipt belongs to a female friend of their son. Police conclude Piest was in Gacy’s house. Gacy is arrested December 21, 1978, and Piest is believed to be the last of his victims. He is “Body #30” and was found in the Des Plaines River.
Piest’s body is recovered and positively identified April 9, 1979.
Piest’s body is recovered and positively identified April 9, 1979.
